


darling, it just takes time

by doujinbag



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drinking, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, Oneshot, Second-Hand Embarrassment, like 100 first dates actually, lots of throwing up lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-13 19:00:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3392663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doujinbag/pseuds/doujinbag
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After what feels like a million first dates that just don't go right at all, Eren begins to worry if he and Levi are meant to date at all.<br/>Or maybe it just takes a <i>lot</i> of tries for the universe to grant them with good luck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	darling, it just takes time

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by fallautumns on tumblr!  
> If you don't like talk about throwing up... This probably isn't for you. Since it happens. A lot.

Eren Jaeger was never someone to be considered particularly lucky in his life, so when he finally got the nerve to ask out the cute librarian who worked just down the street from Eren's Starbucks, he was absolutely ecstatic. Life was finally on his side.

Or maybe not.

Their originally scheduled first date was a Saturday evening, and all day Eren was jittery and excited to meet up with the man at some fancy little restaurant across town called Wall Sina- until he received a text only an hour before they were supposed to meet up.

From: **Levi/library guy** [5:57pm]  
>Hey, Eren? I'm sorry, I'm just letting you know something came up and I'm unable to make it tonight. Does next Saturday work instead?

Eren was slightly crushed at reading his message; he had been waiting for this all week. Nonetheless, he was still happy to see that Levi wanted a date at a later time.

To: **Levi/library guy** [6:01pm]  
>o/c thats fine. i hope everything is ok with u.

From: **Levi/library guy** [6:03pm]  
>I'm okay. My best friend just sorta got in a fight and I have to take care of his sorry ass. Thank you.

To: **Levi/library guy** [6:04pm]  
>np. thnx for letting me know.

Eren merely shrugged and after ordering himself a pizza, he fell asleep watching some idiotic sitcom. He honestly could not wait until the next Saturday.

xxx

When that day finally came around, once again, Eren was insanely excited. He texted Levi to make sure all was well, and upon receiving a rather affirmative message back, he began getting ready at the speed of light. The restaurant had a black tie dress code, and honestly, Eren looked hot in a tux.

He made sure his hair was nice and tangle-free before grabbing his wallet, phone, and keys and heading out to his car.

At the restaurant, he walked in only to find Levi sitting there already. Eren figured Levi must have been someone who liked to arrive early to things, like how he got his "nine o' clock coffee" from Starbucks at eight-thirty or always got to work at the library an hour beforehand simply because he loved being surrounded by the books so much.

Eren smiled gleefully as he sat down across from Levi, getting a glance along with an eyebrow raise from the shorter man. "Hi," he said quietly. "Uh, how are you..?"

"I'm fine," Levi nodded. "You?"

"Good, good. Yeah, I'm good. I'm great, really. I've only been here once before, it's really nice." Eren tapped his fingers together under the table and hummed silently.

"Kid?"

"W-what?"

Levi snorted quietly at Eren's reaction. "Calm down, I call everyone who's younger than me a kid, brat. I was just gonna say you look nice. Different from what you usually wear."

"Oh, uh- thank you! Thank you, Levi. You look nice too." Eren smiled awkwardly and bit his lip, giving a confused look as Levi reached across the table.

"You had a stray hair out of place," Levi said, letting Eren feel his fingers through his hair. "Fixed it. Perfect."

Eren blushed a bit at that, and although Levi didn't admit it out loud, it was the cutest thing in the world to see the brunet get so flustered.

After ordering their food and having their champagne brought out to them, Levi was surprised at how fast Eren downed his drink. "Champagne is supposed to be hell going down your throat, you know. Especially for a kid like you."

"I'm not a kid," Eren reminded him in a sigh. "I used to drink champagne a lot, I'm used to it."

Levi nodded. "My forte was always red wine."

Eren ended up having a lot more than simply one glass of champagne. By the time they were going to leave, he was drunk off his ass. He hadn't been meaning to get drunk, it simply just sort of happened. Maybe it was a good thing he wouldn't remember anything the next morning; he was completely embarrassing both himself and Levi.

"Sir," one blonde server said, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave now, you're disturbing the other guests."

"Me? _I'm_ disturbing them? No, maybe _you're_ disturbing them, buddy. Not me."

Levi stood up and handed the server the money necessary to pay for their meals before slinging an arm around his drunken date's shoulder. "Come on, Eren, we've gotta go."

"I don't wanna go."

"We have to. Come on, now, let's go."

When they finally reached the parking lot, Levi refused to let Eren drive home. "I'm not letting you kill yourself," he grumbled. "Get in my car."

Eren nearly hit his head against the door as he flopped into the passenger seat reluctantly, struggling with his seatbelt. "Leeeevi," he whined.

Levi groaned and stuck his keys in the ignition, then reached over and helped buckle Eren's seat. "Quiet, brat. I'm taking you back to my place and you can crash on the couch. You're gonna have a hell of a hangover tomorrow. Jesus, who gets drunk at fucking Wall Sina?" He grumbled quietly, but he wasn't really mad at Eren. He knew how easy it was to accidentally get drunk.

When they reached Levi's apartment, Levi had to pull Eren inside before getting him to lie down on the couch. "Leeeeviii," Eren whined with his face in the couch cushion, "aren't you forgetting somethiiiing?"

"No," Levi said. "Get some sleep."

Eren began mumbling to himself about how nobody ever let him kiss them, but he was passed out soon enough. Levi sighed and stayed watching him from the kitchen until morning.

"Oh, _god,"_ Eren groaned first thing he woke up. "Wha- where am I...?"

Levi walked out to Eren and handed him a glass of water along with a few painkillers. "You'll need this," he sighed. "Hangovers are no fun. And, before you ask, bathroom is right there if you need to-"

Eren jumped up immediately and ran into the bathroom to hurl.

"—throw up..."

Eren didn't stop apologizing even when Levi took him to get his car from the Wall Sina car lot.

xxx

Their next try at a date, Eren promised, would be completely alcohol-free. He offered to take Levi to the cinema, which Levi gladly accepted on one condition.

"I'm driving you though, brat. After seeing you drive out of Sina's parking lot, I don't think I'd trust ever being in a car where you're the driver."

So, at five o' clock on a Wednesday after they both got off work, Levi was at Eren's little house, grateful he didn't have to wear a tux to the movies. While he always appreciated looking sharp, his tux was made of extremely uncomfortable material.

"Hey," Eren exhaled immediately as he opened the front door. "Come in, I still have to finish getting ready and the movie doesn't start until five-forty-five anyways."

Levi looked around Eren's living room ad the brunet shut the door behind him and nodded. It wasn't as clean as Levi's house was (he didn't have obsessive compulsive tendencies, he simply appreciated cleanliness a lot more than most people), but it wasn't messy, either. He hummed quietly to himself as Eren ran around getting ready, finding his whole ordeal rather adorable. Eren was like an excited little puppy if you thought about it.

"Ready!" Eren finally exclaimed after a few minutes. "Good to go?"

Levi quietly nodded and motioned for Eren to follow him out to the car. Eren hopped in willingly and this time, thankfully, he didn't need help with his seatbelt.

They were only two streets away from the cinema when suddenly, a car came flying out of nowhere. The driver had been texting and not paying attention, of course. _"Son of a bitch!"_ Levi exclaimed, slamming on the brakes so they wouldn't get hit. Eren grabbed onto the little door handle and his eyes widened so much it was a wonder how they didn't roll out of his head. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Oh my god," Eren whispered, his heart practically pounding out of his chest.

"Are you okay?" Levi asked, worried. "Shit, you're not hurt, are you?"

"N-no, just... scared."

"Hey, it's okay. That idiot just wasn't watching the road."

Eren nodded and gulped, still holding onto the handle. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I don't know. I just... I'm sorry, Levi. I'm sorry."

Levi frowned and they eventually got to the movie theater safely, although Eren was _still_ trembling halfway through the movie.

Levi took his shaky hand and offered him an attempt at a smile.

xxx

The idea sounded great at first, but it wasn't until they were actually at the Rose Theme Park that they realized how many things could go wrong at an amusement park. Nonetheless, they did their best to enjoy themselves and make up for the failed first date and shaken-up second one.

Eren knew he'd eaten far too much junk food, but reality hit him in the face as they rode the Titan together, the park's biggest rollercoaster with three loops and two gigantic hills.

Levi had seen Eren puke during his hangover, but now he saw his _actual puke._ He almost vomited himself.

Eren nearly cried at realizing he'd managed to ruin more than one date like that. "Fuck, fuck, I'm sorry," he kept repeating as they walked back to Eren's car (he had somehow convinced Levi to let him drive). "I'm really sorry, Levi."

"Don't be," Levi said. "This stuff happens without warning sometimes, you can't really do anything about it. It's okay."

Eren didn't think it was okay at all.

xxx

From: **Levi** [4:06pm]  
>You, me, McDonald's, 5:30. That okay?

Eren had deleted the "library guy" part of Levi's contact name some time after their failed first date; throwing up at someone else's apartment really made you remember who they were without a title.

To: **Levi** [4:10pm]  
>sure. ill try not 2 throw up again, ha ha.

From: **Levi** [4:12pm]  
>If you do, I'm totally kicking your ass.

From: **Levi** [4:13pm]  
>Just kidding. Your ass is too cute to kick.

To: **Levi** [4:15pm]  
>nice 2 kno uve been looking ;)

From: **Levi** [4:18pm]  
>Shut up, brat. If you don't stop now, the only person finding your ass cute will be Ronald McDonald himself.

Eren merely laughed as he set his phone aside, closing his eyes happily. He didn't know why Levi kept giving him all these extra chances when their dates always got ruined by him (okay, sure, the almost-car-accident wasn't his fault, but he was still annoyingly anxious after the fact). Whatever it was that was keeping Levi interested, Eren was more than grateful for.

McDonald's wasn't anything special, really. While Eren refused to get anything other than an Oreo McFlurry and fries, Levi got an actual meal, scoffing at Eren's unhealthiness.

Then again, they were at McDonald's. They were both hopelessly unhealthy.

The night ended on a happy note for once; they even held hands across the table. Not a romantic setting, really, but it didn't matter. They were spending time together that wasn't bound to get ruined.

Well, until the next morning, anyways.

From: **Levi** [8:32am]  
>Guess who's throwing up now.

Eren wasn't used to waking up before noon on Sundays, so when his phone vibrated loudly, he nearly fell out of his bed completely. As he read Levi's message, his jaw almost dropped in shock.

To: **Levi** [8:38am]  
>r u kidding me

From: **Levi** [8:40am]  
>No. Food poisoning is a bitch. Thanks a lot, Ronald McDonald.

To: **Levi** [8:43am]  
>shit im srry do u need anything??

From: **Levi** [8:45am]  
>I'll be okay. Thank you, though.

From: **Levi** [8:46am]  
>I'll talk to you later, I'd rather not risk getting vomit on my phone.

Eren sighed as he curled back up under the covers, holding his phone close to his chest. Sure, maybe it was ironically funny, but... he still felt awful. Every single one of their dates had been ruined somehow. He really liked Levi, and he would hope that Levi really liked him, but he felt like it was no use. Life really didn't like him after all.

xxx

"Nobody's fucking throwing up this time, got it?" Levi said the minute Eren walked through his door. He chuckled a bit as he let Eren sit on his couch after making the boy take his shoes off at the door.

"You really didn't need to do this," Eren said. "What if I mess it up again?"

"You're not messing anything up," Levi said. "You're fine, Eren. Really."

Eren sighed in defeat as he forced himself to relax on the couch, waiting as Levi put the movie in the DVD player. "What are we watching again?" Eren asked.

 _"Cinderella,"_ Levi snorted sarcastically. The title card showed for _The Dark Knight_ and Eren rolled his eyes as Levi hit play. He was actually a huge Batman fan, but he'd _never_ tell anyone.

Somewhere around the ten-minute mark in the movie, Levi's arm found itself wrapped around Eren's waist. Twenty minutes after that, they shifted their positions to a better one for cuddling, Levi lying down with Eren's head resting on his chest. Levi smiled and whispered, "You're really fucking warm. I might be able to throw out every blanket I've ever owned if it means you'd be my little portable heater."

Eren didn't know why, but Levi's words made his heart skip a beat.

Somehow, Levi's hands ended up underneath the back of Eren's shirt, keeping his pale hands warm while simultaneously acting as a soothing motion to Eren. "Hey," he said suddenly. "You better not fucking throw up, brat."

"W-what?" Eren stuttered. "I'm not going to."

"Why is your heart beating so damn fast?"

Eren blushed and hid his face in Levi's shirt, the older man's hands still slowly rubbing up and down his back. "I just really like you a lot," he admitted.

"That's good," Levi replied quietly.

"Is it?"

"Yes. Because I _really_ like you, too."

Suddenly, they were kissing, and Eren had never felt lips that were so soft in his life. Levi's hands gripped gently around Eren's waist as their lips moved together, and he nipped at the boy's lower lip with his teeth before pulling away. "I think I might even be falling for you," he whispered.

Just for the record, nobody puked at all for the rest of the date.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://spookymileskane.tumblr.com) / [instagram](http://instagr.am/and.a.smile)


End file.
